FCA (functional configuration audit)

FCA stands for Functional Configuration Audit. It is the formal examination of test data and quality-assurance records for a configuration item (CI) to verify that the item has achieved the performance and functional characteristics set out in its applicable requirements and configuration documentation. The UK Ministry of Defence describes it this way in its configuration management guidance.

An FCA is a configuration-management audit used in defence acquisition and sustainment. It is not a financial or general operational audit. A Canadian solicitation on CanadaBuys uses the same expansion and says an FCA "verifies the CI's performance against the approved Functional and Allocated Baselines."

What an FCA examines and confirms

The audit looks at evidence: test data and quality-assurance records for the configuration item. Its purpose is to verify that the item has achieved the specified performance and functional characteristics. UK MoD JSP 945 Part 2 puts the outcome plainly: an FCA confirms that a configuration item meets all of its functional requirements, including its performance requirements.

The same UK guidance places the audit before acceptance of the product baseline. In other words, the FCA is part of the evidence that a product does what its baselined requirements say it must do.

FCA compared with the Physical Configuration Audit

The UK MoD identifies FCA and the Physical Configuration Audit (PCA) as the two types of configuration audit in JSP 945 Part 1. They answer different questions.

• FCA: verifies functional and performance compliance with the approved requirements.
• PCA: verifies that the physical, as-built configuration corresponds to the approved design documentation.

The Canadian Improved Galley solicitation lists PCA as a related term alongside FCA, so bid teams should expect to see the two defined together.

When an FCA is carried out

An FCA is conducted for each configuration item, or group of configuration items, for which a separate development or requirements specification has been baselined. It can be performed incrementally during development and repeated later in the product life cycle, according to JSP 945 Part 2.

Sequencing between the two audits is also addressed. An FCA may be held before a PCA where doing so reduces cost, because the FCA could result in an amendment or modification to the product.

How FCA appears in Canadian defence procurement

FCA appears in Canadian defence purchasing. The solicitation for the Improved Galley project, published on CanadaBuys, defines FCA in its Annex A statement of work and Appendix 1. There it sits within the configuration-management requirements for the equipment being acquired, and it cross-references the PCA.

The UK MoD shows how such an obligation can be assigned in a contract: the contractor can be made responsible for conducting the FCA and PCA, with the arrangements identified in configuration-management planning, as set out in this UK contract attachment. That is an allied example. The wording that applies to a Canadian contract is the wording in that contract.

NATO maintains NATOTerm, its official terminology database covering military and NATO-relevant non-military terms.

What an FCA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

If a solicitation includes configuration-management requirements, read the statement of work for how it defines FCA and PCA. A supplier should be ready to demonstrate the configuration item's performance against the approved baselines and to support the related configuration-management verification.

Procedures, responsibilities and timing depend on the solicitation, the statement of work, the configuration-management plan and the resulting contract. Plan for the test data and quality-assurance records that an FCA examines, and price and schedule the audit activity accordingly.